[castaway]

Well I do seem to have stirred a few people up, firstly, I am not out to insult women, the most common tank used here in Australia is the G the closest tank to this in the US is the K and at almost 5 foot tall and weighing in at 154 LBS with a base of only 9 inches, I will leave you to do the maths and see just where the centre of gravity is. I grew up on a farm and have handled these size bottles since I was about 12 years old, I am now 71 and have no trouble rolling one across a concrete floor, getting them out of the back of a vehicle however is another matter. One of the studios I teach at has a steep driveway, the delivery men refused to bring the tanks down the driveway as they said it was too dangerous , this problem has been overcome now and the bottles are stored in an enclosure at the top of the driveway and the oxy piped 30 meters to the studio but it illustrates how awkward the bottles are even for "experts" I don't know many women in Australia who will confidently handle the G (k) size tanks and not many men unless they have a trade background are confident in handling them, my suggestion was about making it safer and easier for women to handle the tanks and those men who find it difficult. Personally I use concentrators, bottled oxy is way too expensive in my area, my studio is on a rural property, and even though I can back my truck up to within 20 meters of the studio the ground is rough rocky limestone, how many of you ladies would be happy to handle bottles almost 5 foot tall and weighing 154 lbs over that?
I just feel that in this day and age we could do it better and make things easier for everyone. And that's all I have to say on the matter.
Bernard